Thoughts on Entrepreneurism

As a ‘contractor’ networking would be an entirely critical part of my role, yet one of the most challenging for me personally. Where my working style greatly suits a more freeform style of work, picking and choosing types and more roughly, timeframes for my work, these ideas complement my own well compared to a 9-5 job in a studio. Whether or not I require a second, far less interesting job while attempting to get my foot in the door of the industry, I will always work towards being successful as an independent professional. For the most part I would be happy to take any ‘pay the bills’ jobs, as long as they are somewhat relevant to the industry and have some connection to my other work, I don’t expect to be fully engaged all the time, but I do expect to have a number of projects active at any one time whether i’m particularly interested in them or not.

The ‘ big hit’ is any industry professional’s dream, all of us wish we could come up with/be hired for some great project that blows up and suddenly we all have a solid stream of income for the next 10 years. The chances of this happening, especially to someone new to the industry are very slim. Most of us will work long hours for relatively low pay, this is why taking on multiple projects at on time is very common in creative industries. A good balance between the work that I do, and the life that I want to live will be important for me to develop over the next few years.

Keeping up with the industry is something that is much easier to do in the modern world with the ease of knowledge we receive from the internet. It is important to keep updated on all the latest technology and standards and this ties in with flexibility of hours and mobility of workers. I often use online tutorials or articles to reinforce my skills or learn entirely new concepts.

In my opinion, informality is beneficial to structured creative work. ‘Fun’ spaces and frequent short breaks to have some fun only serve to improve creative potential and relieve stress. Having colourful and exciting spaces to work in can also help spark creative thought. These types of workplaces also accelerate social interaction between employees.